Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan earned $75,000 after finishing second in the women’s 100m hurdles final at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest, Hungary, on Friday.
Amusan clocked 12.34s to finish behind American world record-holder Masai Russell, who won the title in 12.22s.
The Netherlands’ Nadine Visser claimed third place in 12.39s, while Bahamas’ Devynne Charlton finished fourth in 12.40s.
The second-place finish earned Amusan $75,000 from the championship’s record prize purse, while Russell collected $150,000 as champion. Visser received $40,000 for third place.
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Amusan had earlier secured her place in the final after finishing second in her semifinal heat.
The Nigerian clocked 12.49s in semifinal Heat 2, behind Charlton, who won in 12.45s. Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska finished third in 12.62s, while American Alia Armstrong took the fourth and final qualification spot in 12.65s.
Russell had underlined her status as favourite in the first semifinal, winning in 12.38s, ahead of Visser, who also ran 12.49s.
With the top four athletes from each of the two semifinals progressing, Amusan returned for the final later in the evening and improved her time by 0.15s to secure second place.
Friday’s final also added another chapter to the growing rivalry between Amusan and Russell.
Amusan had held the women’s 100m hurdles world record since running 12.12s at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, where she became Nigeria’s first world champion in athletics.
Her four-year reign as world record-holder ended on August 27 when Russell clocked 12.09s in Zurich, taking 0.03s off the Nigerian’s mark.
Amusan responded in the same Zurich meeting by running a season’s best 12.23s, the second-fastest wind-legal performance of her career.
Russell subsequently won the Diamond League final in Brussels in 12.20s before arriving in Budapest unbeaten over the hurdles in 2026.
The World Athletics Ultimate Championship, which runs from September 11 to 13, features some of the world’s leading athletes competing for a record $10m prize purse, the largest offered at a single track and field competition.
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